Student engineers Aim High in Robotics Competition.(USER FOCUS: CAD DESIGN * VIZ)(For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology)(computer aided design)

High school students from across the globe spent six weeks designing and then building a robot that had to perform a set of designated tasks as part of a national engineering contest. In the end, a team from Rolling Meadows High School and Wheeling High School in Schaumberg, Illinois, along with professional mentor Motorola, took home the top Chairman's Award for their invention.

Backed by a host of corporations and educational institutions, including official championship sponsor Autodesk, the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition challenges future engineers to push the boundaries of innovation with leading-edge 3D tools. This year's challenge theme, "Aim High," tested the students' and their robots' abilities to fire foam balls through hoops, plow the balls into floor goals, and program a robotic vision system to navigate the robot.

This year's FIRST competition marks the 15th anniversary of the event, founded by inventor/entrepeneur Dean Kamen in 1989 to inspire and foster an appreciation of science and technology in young people through accessible, innovative programs that build self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills. To this end, Autodesk has been working with the FIRST Robotics Competition since 1992, providing students with donations of high-end engineering and visualization software to use in the competition.

"Autodesk continues to encourage students to learn about these disciplines and inspires the inventors and engineers of tomorrow," says Kamen. "Partnering with mentors, developing relationships, and working as a team to achieve a common goal are elements for success both in engineering and in life."

As Rob Hoffman, senior entertainment product marketing manager for Autodesk, points out, "Every year these students are recruited and given scholarships to prestigious schools such as MIT and Virginia Tech, so participating in the competition really does open doors. Plus, the life skills they take away--teamwork, leadership--will enable them to pursue any career they want, be it science-related or not."

Design Intent

This year, 1130 teams from seven countries designed and constructed robots using Autodesk's Inventor (3D mechanical design software) and 3ds Max (3D modeling, animation, and rendering software). Using a standard "kit of parts" and a common set of rules, the teams, with help from their mentors, solved a common problem during a six-week timeframe by building robots from the parts. Then the teams put their projects to the test in 33 regional competitions, where they entered the inventions in a series of competitions designed by Kamen and a committee of engineers and industry professionals. The game "rules" vary yearly, so students are constantly challenged to come up with new, inventive ideas.